Boral Material Technologies, Inc.
Fly Ash Storage

By Freda Grones

Gary Beckcom, Director of Dome Construction, at Boral Material Technologies, Inc., described two Monolithic Dome bulk storage facilities Boral uses for fly ash-one in North Carolina and one in California. In Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Duke Power agreed to construct a dome 165' in diameter and 82' in height, for Boral to store fly ash. It was completed in September 1997.

Beckcom said, "At this site, the fly ash is a byproduct of Duke's coal-burning power plant, which supplys electricity to the local area. Fly ash is very light - just 45 microns. It's what's left over when you burn coal. It cannot just go into the air if we want to keep our environment clean."

Instead, the loose fly ash gets blown from the power plant into steel silos, then through a pipeline 2,300 feet long, into the dome. Conveyor belts within a dome tunnel system then move the fly ash to its destination within the storage unit itself.

"That tunnel system was the challenge and what decided us to go with Dome Technology," Beckcom said. "We had been thinking about this mass storage facility for years and considered every possible design. The dome was the most economical.

"So we interviewed all the major players," he continued. "Barry South of Dome Technology offered the most economical, practical solution for building the tunnel system within the dome and he had the experience to do it." [Ed. Note: See tunnel article.]

Linden Fielding remembers the project well. "Tunnels were a new challenge for us," he said. "We built the tunnel first, so the facility is a dome within a dome. We used an Airform for the tunnel, but put the spray and rebar on its outside. The Airform's curvature dramatically reduced the need for material and kept costs down."

Fielding's crew then covered the completed tunnel with earth, smoothed everything in place, and proceeded with construction of the main storage dome.

In Fontana, California, Boral's bulk storage facility, a Monolithic Dome with a diameter of 94' and a height of 47', is just three miles south of Mt. Baldy. Since most of California has earthquakes, seismic conditions were appropriately considered and dealt with during its planning.

The terminal became operational in March, storing fly ash railed to Fontana from power plants in Nevada and Arizona, then trucked to sites all over the country. Beckcom said that the truck loading goes on daily, from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., but because the facility is so efficiently designed, the operation requires only three people.

Both of Boral's facilities get visitors often. Beckcom said, "There's a tremendous amount of interest. We get people from all over. We recently had delegations from the United Kingdom and from Thailand. Most leave favorably impressed."

177 Dome Park Place - Italy, TX 76651
Tel (972)483-7423 - Fax (972)483-6662
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